The LGBTQIA+ community is not a monolith. It's multi-domain, multiracial, multi-ethnic, multi-faith. Being proud means different things to different people. This is our America, who I'm meant to be.
Watch the full episode of "Our America: Who I'm Meant to Be" in the video player above or wherever you stream: Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku.
Learn more about each person featured in the series:
Jack Ciapciak
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Jack Ciapciak
Jack Ciapciak turned a tragedy into inspiration. His fiancé, Jack Lorentzen, died just months after they agreed to get married at park bench in New York City. But instead of making the site of their proposal a place of sadness, he turned it into a place of inspiration and support for anyone who walks by.
"It was the worst day of my life," said Ciapciak. "The worst thing that could possibly happen did. He was 30 years old and I was 29. Just two weeks from my 30th birthday. I thought of the bench and I thought, 'How am I ever going to go back to that bench or even walk along here?' The plaque that I had made for the engagement was a temporary one, so I had to replace it with something."
The bench is now emblazoned with a new message that reads, in part, "Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it."
Today, thousands of people walk by and reflect on their own loss, and celebrate a love that will not be forgotten.
Carole Goldsmith, Ed.D.
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Dr. Carol Goldsmith
Dr. Carol Goldsmith is the Chancellor of the State Center Community College District in Fresno, California. As an educator, she feels it is important to not only be an example for the community, but an ambassador for it as well. Kicked out of her home as a child for being a lesbian, she aims to make sure others don't go through a similar experience.
"I didn't have a place to go, but I had my car," said Goldsmith, "That was a very traumatic night. When I talk with young people and I hear their stories of how their parents might have kicked them out or how their parents are having, you know, trauma at home, I let them know that your parents might not love you at the moment, or you might think they don't love you in the moment, but there's [sic]a lot of other people who do love you."
Goldsmith stressed the importance of, "The work that we do as educators, to try to bring everybody to the table and make it equitable for people to be able to access education."
Joe Hawkins
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Joe Hawkins
Joe Hawkins leads the LGBTQ+ Community Center in Oakland, California. The center was born of the desire to recognize the community that thrives in the shadow of San Francisco's larger community.
Through celebrations and health care, Hawkins shares his love of Oakland through his own story of coming out, and being a young father at a time when others in the Black community were not so accepting of single, gay, Black men being fathers. He took his fight to a national stage.
"I needed that to be heard on national television because that was the mentality of Black America," Hawkins said. "When I got back to Oakland, many people supported me. It was very positive. People were happy to see my son with me, and we took care of each other. He's my son, but he also feels like a friend."
Today, his son is a father himself and Hawkins is a celebrated member of the community.
Pastor Vance Haywood
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Pastor Vance Haywood
Pastor Vance Haywood is with St. John's Metropolitan Community Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He struggles daily to help people find their faith and believe in who they can be. The largely LGBTQ+ congregation he preaches to is also providing a safe space for young people who are looking for someone who believes in them.
"We look at this, this notion that God created us in God's own image," Haywood said. "I'm created in God's image. You're created in God's image. God didn't make a mistake. God created the queer parts of me just as much as God created the white parts of me or the sandy blond hair, parts of me or whatever."
Jonathan P. Higgins, Ed.D.
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins
Dr. Jonathan P. Higgins is a Los Angeles-based author, podcaster and director of a local nonprofit. In their podcast, "Black Fat Femme Podcast," they discuss the intersection of race, gender and identity in education and entertainment.
"I think representation is important to me because I didn't have it when I was a kid," they said. "When I was growing up, I felt very isolated and alone in many of my own experiences. And so, when you start to feel like you're the only person that's going through something, you oftentimes feel like no one is truly going to understand your walk or what you're going through."
Their book, "Black. Fat. Femme. Revealing the Power of Visibly Queer Voices in Media and Learning to Love Yourself," has captivated a new audience looking to see themselves represented in the media.
July Mabry
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Julie Mabry
Julie Mabry is the owner of Pearl Bar Houston, a business that caters to the LGBTQ+ community, and Side Peace Sports Bar, Houston's first women's sports bar. Bars in this community are the meeting places where cultures intersect and relationships bloom.
Mabry shared why she opened Pearl, "My sister is also gay, and she had a lot of hardships. I don't think it was so much coming out, but just in the '80s when she started to find her identity. We went to a gay club in San Antonio, Texas, and I noticed that her whole demeanor changed. She felt safe, and that just resonated with me, and it just became a goal, a dream of mine to be able to provide that type of space."
Today, Mabry is opening the doors to anyone who needs a safe place to explore who they are meant to be.
Kyle McIntyre
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Kyle McIntyre
Kyle McIntyre was born and raised in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. After briefly being involved in local politics, he gained local notoriety for founding U.D.T.J., bringing activism and the fight for LGBTQ+ equality to his local community.
"We don't live in a society or a world right now that's moving in a progressive or optimistic direction," McIntyre said, "So, we need to take it every single day to the best that we can, fight as hard as we can and push ourselves."
McIntyre is passionate about creating inclusive LGBTQ+ spaces and services in his community.
Anthony Williams
'Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be': Meet Anthony Williams
Anthony Williams is a documentarian in Chicago, Illinois and founder of Second Glance Productions. He found his voice in other gay, Black men who were struggling to date in the LGBTQ+ community. He started his own production company in 2009.
"I was like, there's nothing out here that represents who I am as a Black person or as a queer person or as anything," Williams said. "Even in my early days, a lot of the ideas that I got for content comes from my own personal experience. I feel like when people watch documentaries, they immediately have the connection of it being real because you're following a real person or a real, you know, situation versus something that's scripted and created and kind of made up."
Read the full story about Anthony Williams here.
Take a look at all of the "Our America: Who I'm Meant To Be" stories and videos here.